Omega Syndrome
by LochlynParker
Summary: Set two and a half years after Jurassic World. Zach organizes a protest against InGen, but doesn't expect to see Owen working there. With buried secrets threatening to reveal themselves, will the two ever find each other? Zachwen
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One: Rally Up**

It had been two and a half long years since Zach went through his ordeal at Jurassic World. While he tried to repress all the terror that had flooded his veins during those harrowing hours, the nightmares persisted. At least his panic attacks had eased, and that break in his anxiety was exactly what he was looking to test at his first summer back home from college, where he had spent the last year bypassing his general education classes in order to focus fully on political science.

If he had been asked the day before leaving for that eventful weekend with his aunt Claire what he wanted to pursue in the future, he probably would have responded something business-related. The grand tradition of following in his parents' footsteps. Despite their problems, his parents had managed to stay together throughout the years. In the weeks following "the incident", as his father referred to it, they called off the divorce lawyers and decided their children needed them more than they needed space from each other.

Gray had the elasticity of youth on his side, and he looks back on their vacation as a wild adventure. Zach had been older, and so the trauma became harder to shake. Their parents weren't even there, so they couldn't know the crushing responsibility that Zach had to endure.

Going to college was the greatest escape for him. He ditched his high school girlfriend and started fresh. Political sciences called to him because he now knew how the world worked – that there would always be a villain (not in a reptilian skin), and somehow the scales needed to be balanced.

That was what Owen had taught him.

He pushed the thought of the velociraptor trainer out of his mind. His goofy smile, his bulging biceps, the way he always knew the correct thing to say… he pushed it all down. Zach would not allow himself to have any sort of feelings other than respect for the man who was currently sleeping with his aunt. At least, that was the last he had heard.

Claire had made great strides since leading that T. Rex to the fray, but that didn't forgive an entire lifetime of obliviousness when it came to him. He once again felt almost envious of Gray's youth, because he only had hero-eyes for their aunt.

"Stop thinking about this shit," he told himself, bracing for the entry into the room that awaited him. "You have other things to worry about."

Waiting for him beyond the thin wood door was a group of about thirty people that he had managed to recruit in the short time he had been home. In the past year, he had learned that InGen had continued Hammond's research, and that thanks to Dr. Wu, it had escaped the island. Now, he wasn't one to share all this with the general public, but he did have a certain way with words, and had convinced the crowd in the next room that the genetics building where Wu worked was performing experiments that weren't necessary politically correct. It was the most truth he was willing to share without saying anything that could be turned around on him. He knew how to protect himself.

He opened the door on the people he had gathered to protest the research they didn't even know about. All eyes focused on him, and for a moment he allowed himself to think that his charisma, and not their radical view points, was what drew them all together.

"We are prepared?" He asked the room, as the chatty din simmered to a quiet.

"Hell yeah!" A woman said, standing and raising her poster for all to see. "Are we marching now?"

There came a chorus of approval from the rest, and Zach raised a hand to silence them. "We have a mission. We don't want genetic research to be weaponized! That is our stance. Keep the message clear and we will show those corporate bastards how we feel!"

He thought again of Owen, and his heart skipped a few beats. He had sent the trainer a text a couple weeks prior urging him to participate. Maybe having a high profile person involved would generate some press. However, he got no response. The radio silence wasn't something that he wanted to see, but he understood it. The two of them had a strange history, to say the least.

Zach gave a few more rowdy words to the people he had amassed, and then led them on the march on InGen Genetics.

Owen woke up next to Claire, and once again regretted his decision.

She was a brave, bold woman, but that wasn't enough for him. Not anymore. Ever since the trial by fire at Isla a couple years ago, and that encounter six months ago, he thought that they could never have a real run. Yet he told her that he loved her, and time had taken its course.

On top of that, he really didn't want to get into their familiar fight again. The job he had taken, and why he had undergone such a task, was beyond her limited world view.

Sliding out from beneath the sheets of her bed, his thoughts went directly to the events that transpired around Christmas. He could still feel Zach's smooth skin beneath his harsh touch, that part of him that still felt like an Alpha calling out for an Omega to call him master.

And that is exactly what he got. With Claire, the balance of power shifted from side to side. As his relations with the teen – well, that was another thing entirely. He had been so engrossed with his raptors for so long, that the primal relationship between them definitely surpassed the bond that he had tried to create with Claire. When it came to Zach… that was a different story.

They had spent one night together, right after Christmas. Zach came to him to thank him for saving all their lives at Jurassic World, but it didn't end there. That part of Owen that he called his Alpha raged against his psyche, and acknowledged something within Zach, allowing the two of them to sleep together in a blissful ecstasy.

He wanted to push that night out of his brain, but it stuck with him. He felt for sure that Zach thought nothing of it, being as hormonal as he was, but to Owen it meant the world. He had finally found someone that made him feel whole.

Sliding on his shirt, he looked over at Claire with that regular pain in his gut. He had been lying to her, for sure, but he also didn't want to hurt her. Thankfully, his job would distract Claire and also had to keep Zach at bay, if what the teen had told him was the truth. He pulled on his jacket, and went on to his job at InGen.


	2. Chapter 2: Shout in Protest

**Chapter Two: Shout in Protest**

A/N: So sorry/not sorry about the first chapter. I had a few before starting it, and could barely see the keyboard by the time I was finished. Hopefully these next chapters will have more clarity. On that note, thanks for reading! I have a few plot lines lined up, but I love hearing feedback/suggestions, so don't be shy. Also, fairly soon the rating will change to M, but I'll let it be as it is until then. Enjoy!

The protest was just starting to gain momentum. Zach knew they probably should have started a little bit later in the day, but he wanted to get there early enough in hopes of getting employees to revolt against their employer as they walked through the main doors. That hadn't happened (yet), but now that the sun had risen above the buildings fully, the group had been there long enough to begin to attract the attention of the press.

Two news crews were parked just down the busy city street, and couple reporters had already circled the protestors, asking the basic questions, pointing the cameramen in the direction of the signs they had crudely slapped together.

Although Zach organized this whole affair, no one had yet wanted to interview him – which was totally fine, considering he had no idea how to present himself on live television. He did have several points to make.

InGen denies the rumors that they are using the embryos that escaped the island for military research and implications, but then again, they haven't shown the public really anything dinosaur-related. Zach knew for a fact that was what InGen intended to do, and he suspected that was the reason why the corporation kept the majority of their research under lock and key.

The day started to get hot, and he peeled off his hoodie, tying it around his waist.

Marching in a lazy circle, his thoughts started to drift off. He wondered how Gray was doing. Ever since the island, Gray had decided that he needed to learn how to defend himself. There wasn't a martial arts style that specifically tailored to dino-bashing, so he was currently taking a few different forms. Today he had a tournament that, hopefully, Zach would get to see the end of. The younger boy had gotten pretty good – so far as that the typical older-brother bullying had stopped months ago.

He thought a little about school, and the people he had met there. One girl, Olive, had been trying her damndest to get into his pants, but he never succumbed to her advances. It wasn't as if he had one sexual encounter with Owen and turned completely gay, it was more like he couldn't imagine sleeping with anyone else now. Once, he even tried to find a guy at a club that resembled Owen's build. While he was successful, something about the interaction seemed off, and he didn't go through with it.

Why hadn't Owen texted him back?

At first, he thought it might have been because the man saw him as just a naïve child. He had to, didn't he? Zach knew some of InGen's darkest secrets, and he thought a little protest might do something to change their world.

Then again, it could be something all together different. But he would not allow his mind to travel that dark road at the moment.

That was when Owen appeared, picking his way through the protestors. Zach's heart jumped, and he rushed to greet the older man. "Hey!" he shouted, maybe a little over-enthusiastically, and lowered his sign to his side, almost hiding it.

"Oh, hi," Owen replied awkwardly.

"So you decided to join us? That's great!"

Owen didn't respond, and shifted his hand, trying to shove it in his pocket, but something kept it from going in. Zach's eyes jerked down, and saw the InGen name badge half-covered by Owen's clutched fist.

"What is that?"

Owen pulled it up, showing Zach the handsome picture beneath the plastic jacket. "I work here."

"Why!?"

Pulling the teenager off to the side, Owen talked in hushed tones, looking around to make sure the wrong people weren't watching. "I'm trying to help." When Zach started to shake free of Owen's grip, he tightened his hold and continued. "I'm trying to figure out what they are up to, and I can't do that as a bystander, or a civilian. You've done your research, you know how far-reaching and secretive InGen can be. I have to work the system from the inside."

Zach paused, letting the information sink in. "What does Aunt Claire think about this?"

"Honestly, I think she resents me. She doesn't believe that I can change anything. She's fallen into a rut ever since they closed the park. Sure, she'll be wealthy until the day she dies, but the guilt of allowing those experiments eats at her. She believes the world is doomed, and spends her days drinking her pain away. Is this what you want to hear?"

The teen yanked his arm free. "Then why don't you try to help her?"

"You don't think I have?" Owen hissed. "I tried, but she refuses me. And it doesn't help that my mind hasn't really been in the relationship for a while now…" He let his voice trail off, and inhaled sharply, noticing his slip.

Silence hung in the air between them like a wall. Zach's face flushed a bright scarlet, and took a step backwards. Trying to process this new bit of knowledge, he shook his head, and said, "I need to get back to-" and waved his arm back towards the protestors.

Without waiting for a response, he raised his sign high, and went back to marching.

Owen watched the boy walk off, and wondered why he had allowed that last line to slip. He knew he had to get to work, but suddenly he wanted to join the rally, if only as an apology. But he also knew how Zach would take that, and while he wanted nothing more than to pursue a relationship with him, that was not going to happen. Not while Claire flailed about in her downward spiral, when he felt semi-responsible for her being there.

Turning towards the building, he ran a hand through his sandy hair and took a deep breath. Work should take his mind off things, even if it meant putting his thoughts in places that might get him arrested, or killed.

Walking through the glass doors of the building, he hooked right to the elevators, and pushed the button for floor eight, while pressing his key card against a pad located just above the lighted panel. He worked in the birthing division as the Department Head of Imprinting. Today, a new batch of velociraptors were ready to hatch, and he had to get their handlers aquainted.

Claire paced her penthouse apartment, a glass of wine swirling in her hand. Each day she awoke, the space Owen inhabited already cooled, and pulled on her silky robe as she walked over to the window, giving her a full view of downtown. Each day, she thought the sight that would greet her would be mayhem and violence, blood rushing into the gutters, the sound of gunshots echoing off concrete. Instead, each day brought the same as the one prior – cars honking in a rage against the morning commute, pedestrians clogging the sidewalk.

Deep down, she knew that she needed to reinvent herself, give her life any sort of meaning, but that was a thought for _tomorrow._ Too much had happened to her in so little time, no wonder it was taking her years to move past the nightmarish landscape her amusement park had turned into.

Owen was a good man, and he stuck by her side, trying to help her, only to no avail. She sensed a disconnect between them, growing stronger by the day, and it wasn't just the job he had taken with that awful corporation. Their sex had diminished to almost nothing, and it lacked the passion that had ensued after the first couple weeks safe and dinosaur free. There was no reason to suspect someone else, but she knew that he had cheated on her, at least once.

It was around last Christmas, when she had been out celebrating with Karen, both of them losing their spirits to karaoke and one too many drinks. Karen had literally dragged her out of her apartment and shoved her into a taxi.

The next morning, when she woke up, the hangover just starting to settle into place, she took a deep breath, and her pillow smelled different. She knew her own scent, and Owen's, but this was neither, and not even a strange combination of the two. As weird as it sounded, she thought the scent was youthful, in some way. Like a body spray a surfer might put on before hitting up the clubs.

To her credit, she never once questioned him about it. There was no point. Their relationship was just a routine at this point, and while she knew he couldn't help her, she also didn't want to let him go. She just wasn't ready to not have the option of turning over in the middle of the night and finding a warm body to snuggle up against.

The man she once proclaimed to love had been diminished to a security blanket. She laughed, and took a long swill of the wine.

The phone rang, and she went to the table where she kept it during the day. A name flashed across the screen, and she thought, _interesting_ , but decided to let it go to voice mail. She would hear what the man had to say, but on her own terms.

"Why are you protesting InGen?" the reported asked the camera, then turned and pointed her microphone in Zach's face.

"There are many reasons," Zach replied. "I believe they are withholding valuable, potentially dangerous information from the public."

This was his third interview, and after stumbling through the first two, he thought he might have actually found his rhythm. The rally was continuing way longer than he originally had planned, but that was a good thing. He was definitely going to miss Gray's tournament, but there would be others, and his brother was smart enough to understand why Zach needed to do this.

"What kind of information?"

"Well, as a survivor of Isla Nublar, I witnessed some disturbing events that I think everyone should know about." He didn't wait for the shocked reporter to gather herself before pressing on. "I saw InGen attempting to steal embryos from the park, and while I can't say for sure, I am almost positive that something managed to make it off the island. InGen was there, in the thick of things, and they talked about wanting to weaponize velociraptors for military applications."

"Do you have any proof of this? Is this something you can substantiate?"

"At this time, all I have is my word. I do know someone who spoke directly with InGen about this, but at this time, for professional reasons, he is keeping quiet. I hope, one day in the future," and with this he looked directly at the camera, "he will realize that burying the truth doesn't always last, and sooner or later it will surface."

The reported stared at him for a moment, wondering if he was making this up, or using her as a diving board for some personal issue. Really, he didn't care what she thought. After his encounter with Owen, all he wanted was to expose this company for all its deep dark secrets, but even more than that, he wanted another chance with Owen.

That thought shocked him, in a way. Yes, he'd been thinking of little else other than InGen and the trainer, but he didn't realize until that moment that he _really_ wanted him.

The reporter wandered off to interview some other people, he watched her beeline towards some employees standing down the block having a smoke break, and he returned to that wintry night the duo had shared.

Owen had been so in charge of the situation, and Zach gave himself over entirely. He wanted more of that, more of Owen's impressive strength. He wanted Owen's hot breath on his neck, wanted his hands pinning him to the bed. Then wanting turned to needing, and he decided it was time for the rally to end. For now, his thoughts were too clouded to focus clearly on the task at hand.


End file.
